N-isopropyl-p- 123I iodoamphetamine single photon emission computed tomography study of Parkinson's disease with dementia

BACKGROUND: Intellectual deterioration occurs in 10-40% of patients with Parkinson's disease. However, there are many conflicting studies on its relation with brain perfusion and the nature of this dementing process remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To compare cortical perfusion by SPECT using (123)I-IMP between Parkinson's disease patients with dementia and those without dementia and to investigate the correlation between dementia in Parkinson's disease and brain perfusion in various areas. METHODS: Fifty-two cases of Parkinson's disease and 10 control cases were studied. The Parkinson's disease with dementia group included 30 cases and the Parkinson's disease without dementia group included 22 cases. RESULTS: By multiple logistic regression method, we demonstrated significant hypoperfusion in the occipital cortex in Parkinson's disease with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of dementia in Parkinson's disease may vary. We demonstrated that occipital hypoperfusion was closely correlated to dementia in Parkinson's disease compared to frontal, parietal and temporal perfusion.